Richardson fined $10K by Ethics

The House Ethics Committee has voted unanimously to formally reprimand Democratic Rep. Laura Richardson and fine her $10,000 for violating House rules by improperly using her official staff to conduct campaign and personal activities on her behalf, and then attempting to obstruct the investigation into the allegations.

At one point during the probe, the Ethics Committee was forced to subpoena Richardson to get her to turn over documents it was seeking, although even then she did not fully do so, according to a committee report on the probe. And when investigators questioned Richardson, the California Democrat complained that she wanted to end the session so she could attend a congressional softball game.

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According to the Ethics Committee, Richardson forced her aides to work on her reelection campaign after finishing up their official work for the day, or on weekends, which is a violation of House rules. Richardson even told an aide to go volunteer for her opponent’s campaign in order to gather information about what her opponent was up to. Richardson also tried to pressure staffers to say they were not required to work on her campaign once the investigation into her actions began, the committee charges.

In addition, Richardson treated the investigation of these allegations with “utter disdain,” the Ethics Committee said, using extraordinarily harsh language to slam the California Democrat.

The secretive panel said Richardson showed “an utter absence of true remorse for her misuse of official resources and, equally as significant, for what she has put her staff through, as well as a near total deflection of responsibility for this matter. It is not this Committee, it is not other Members, it is not either political party, and most certainly, it is not her staff that is responsible for the situation Representative Richardson finds herself in.

“It is Representative Richardson’s own management, Representative Richardson’s own decisions, and Representative Richardson’s own actions that are responsible for the existence of this matter, the resources they have required, and the damage to the integrity of her office and this institution that they have caused,” it continued.

Richardson has agreed to the seven charges, according to a statement issued Wednesday by Reps. Jo Bonner (R-Ala.) and Linda Sanchez (D-Calif.), the chairman and ranking member of the ethics panel, respectively. Richardson, in her third term, must pay the fine by Dec. 1.

The floor vote on Richardson’s reprimand, which must be approved by the House, is now scheduled for early Thursday afternoon, leadership sources said.